Boobytrap - 8 March 2018

8 March 2018 – As far as I can tell my foot is coming along quite well. It’s still sore but no significant redness or swelling. I woke up out of my sleep and realized the brick pile was intentionally boobytrapped. Just like the Mexicans raking their driveways and parking lots checking for late night human foot prints in the morning. The nail was there just in case a thief came during the night to steal some or all the bricks. More than likely they would step on it as they walked around the brick pile carrying off the bricks. The next day they would be limping around like me. If they went to a doctor to get a tetanus shot or treatment the clinic or hospital would know the individual’s name. The doctor could then be a witness in a court of law against the thief or thieves because he treated the injury. No one could be sued claiming it was an intentional booby trap because the hotel owner would just say it was accidentally left there when the brick pile was put there. And I know he would lie and keep lying about it. I could see it in his face.

Do you know how I know it was a boobytrap? 85% of the board was covered with dirt. Only 4.0 inches of the board was exposed with the nail pointing up. The exposed end was 12.0” to 18.0” away from the bricks and the brick pile was there a minimum of two years. So, for minimum of two years somebody walked and mowed around those bricks. This lawn was manicured…..the best I’ve seen in South America. That’s why I walked back there just to walk around in the green grass and look at the rabbit running around. For a small hotel this hotel was pretty well kept up inside and out. Guess what? No one had stepped on the nail and no lawn mower had gotten a flat tire or bent the nail over with a plastic wheel. Had the owner or lawn maintenance person stepped on that nail, that board would have been thrown in the trash. Hospital visits cost money and no one wants to give up hard earned money to a hospital. So how could that nail be there so long without being bent over? Simple. The owner put it there and whoever did the lawn work also knew it was there and worked around it. That kind of answered why the hotel owner always acted weirdly. He planted the nail and he caught the wrong person, me. They both knew I wasn’t a thief. What could I do with a brick or a pile of bricks? I’m on a motorcycle from another country.

The wife knew about the boobytrap / nail and was always concerned about my foot. She asked me about it every day. They also knew that they made money off of me because I stepped on their boobytrapped nail. I’m sure they felt a little guilty about that. Maybe. I got the feeling the owner wished I’d just go away. I know the owner and his wife both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw me leave. I think I could have stunk up their lives had I wanted to. I was just glad to get the hell out of there. It was awkward situation.

I drove from San Carlos de Bariloche to El Bolson. The roads were mostly curvy and good with an occasional pot hole. It was like driving through a park. Pine trees, lakes and mountains on both sides of the road. I didn’t make it to Esquel because of the inevitable rain. You could see the clouds forming ahead in the mountains, getting darker and darker. I was watching to see when the first car drove by with the windshield wipers going. It’s the first good indication it’s time to put on my rain suit.

By the time I arrived at El Bolson city limits it was raining. I had Blanche quickly find me a hotel. She found a fancy one with a fancy price. I was hoping she could have done better pricewise than that……but the reception door had roof over my head while I unloaded my bike in the rain and it also had secure parking.

After unloading my motorcycle, I set SPOT out to mark my location. Anytime I do that I always get people wondering “what is this guy is up to?” This particular time it was the manager of the hotel catching me on his security cameras performing this suspicious activity. He came out to see what I was up to. He never said anything just sat nearby watching. When SPOT finished sending its message, I picked it up and went to my room. He then went back to his office.

I asked the receptionist to order me two hamburgers. I was starving to death and I didn’t think one would be enough. When they arrived, they were six inches in diameter! The largest hamburgers I had ever seen. They were all I could eat. I couldn’t even touch the french fries. It rained all night.